In addition to the latest signings (Bay, DeRosa), I've changed a few things in the program.  A few players will show fairly substantial changes.  The biggest thing was an update to the aging curve for younger players.  Justin Upton, Travis Snider, and Jay Bruce are some of those who benefit most.

For some reason I was just thinking about what Eric Hinske has done the last few years.  He has played in each of the last three World Series, for three different teams in the same division.  Has this ever happened before?

If not, has anyone ever played in three straight World Series with 3 different teams?  I honestly don't know but am feeling curious, and generous.

First person to tell me what other player has done this gets a free copy of the WAR database in .csv format.

I put the latest round of hitter signings in today.  I might be jumping the gun on Nick Johnson to the Yankees but it looks like it will happen.  Great signing, and hopefully being used as a DH will let him stay healthy again.  His power might be gone, but his OBP fits well in the #2 spot ahead of Tex and A-Rod.

Also, I double checked and updated my park factors.  You'll see some changes here and there.  One example is Marco Scutaro hitting .266 instead of .262.  That's one of the reasons I've been reluctant to post a spreadsheet or send a copy to upload on Fangraphs.  But all of that will be coming soon.

Ryan Garko at first base is competitive with Adam LaRoche, but Nick Johnson and Russ Branyan are still the top players around.  Kelly Johnson is now the top 2B listed, though his TZ defensive projection may be wrong, I don't think other systems have him as good defensively.

Garret Atkins is an average option at third, though he had a terrible 2009 and who knows if he's due for a bounceback or has Morgan Ensberg disease.  John Buck is probably the best free agent option now for catcher.  I have no idea why the Royals would let him go while picking up the corpse of Jason Kendall.  Teams are still convinced that veteran catchers can have value above and beyond the numbers.  The search to quantify that still goes on.

Jack Cust jumps to the top of the list for designated hitters.  It's pretty much a function of age at this point, being 31 the system thinks he's a bit more likely to bounce back than 35 year old Vlad.  Jonny Gomes had a nice year for the Reds, but given his strikeouts and poor glove, he's not a great option to start.  He'd make half of a decent platoon.  In the 1980's a team might have tried Gomes and Cust as a cheap DH platoon, but in these days of 12 man bullpens I don't think you can really afford two players on your roster who only wear batting gloves.

Chien-Ming Wang is the most notable addition to the free agent starters, but while CHONE knows he missed a lot of time the last two years, I does not know he had shoulder surgery last summer, so this might be way too optimistic.  In the bullpen the most interesting name is probably Matt Capps, while the best projection goes to Jose Arredondo, though he won't pitch in 2010 and would only be useful if you want to stash him for 2011.  It might not be a bad idea, as I don't think he'll even be arbitration eligible.

They have been updated through 2009.  See where Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter, and A-Rod rank once their 2009 seasons are added in.  Some players, like Griffey, Randy Johnson, and Jason Giambi, showed up for 2009 but added little above replacement level.

The top 500 pitcher and hitter pages now show members of the Hall of Fame and the Hall of Merit.  Looks like the best players eligible who have not been inducted to either hall are a pair of 1970's 3B, Buddy Bell and Sal Bando.  They seem like borderline guys to me.  On the pitching side it's Rick Reuschel.  When he was active I didn't expect that he'd be a Hall of Famer, and he won't be, but he's got a decent case for induction to the Hall of Merit sooner or later.